Continued: New exhibit is starting to inflate Skyline sales

It’s a busy year for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity, the nonprofit builder and renovator of homes for working-class buyers who must put in up to 500 hours of “sweat equity” in return for no-interest financing and sometimes a discounted price.

Habitat, often backed by business contributions and employee volunteers, finished its 1,000th Twin Cities home this month. The nonprofit has completed a $36 million capital campaign that helped it step up its work during the several-year housing recession during which it emerged as one of the several biggest builders in the area. And construction is underway of a new headquarters on University Avenue in St. Paul.

Twin Cities Habitat will build up to 60 houses this year and do about 150 painting-and-renovation projects with low-income seniors and other qualifying families.

Twin Cities Habitat, whose largest corporate underwriter long has been Thrivent Financial, is one of the more active U.S. subsidiaries and also is the second-largest U.S. Habitat in supporting low-cost housing in struggling countries such as Mozambique and Haiti. In slowly rebounding north Minneapolis, Habitat will build and remodel about 15 homes. Details at www.tchabitat.org.

CHARITABLE BICYCLING

Kudos to more than 3,500 business and other volunteer cyclists who pedaled to Duluth last month in the MS 150 ride and raised nearly $3 million for multiple sclerosis research, support programs and services.